Often mislabeled as ‘metal’, BLUE OYSTER CULT was thinking person’s rock music, a band with 5 songwriters, 4 of whom sang lead, and change instruments when needed in the studio and on stage. There was No one else like this band! BOC could come up with early heavy rockers, and also mix in memorable haunting melodies, ballads, and deliver classic rock hits (see “Don’t Fear The Reaper”, “Godzilla”, “Burnin’ For You”….). In 2020 they released The Symbol Remains – the band’s first studio album in 19 years, a nice surprise and a cool album that fans liked. Now we get Ghost Stories, a 12-track album that comes as another welcomed surprise, as it pulls previously unreleased songs & recordings from 1978-83 (and 1 from 2016), de-mixes them, remixes them, and finishes them up for this special release, a must-have for BOC fans.
There are a couple of recognizable titles here, such as studio versions of “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” and a killer performance of “Kick Out The Jams” – both covers which featured in the band’s live repertoire and appeared on live albums. There’s also a cover of The Beatles’ “If I Fell”, which is the only track from beyond 1983 (2016), and it’s a nice take of acoustic guitars and vocals. But the songs of most interest here will be those BOC member compositions, ones that could’ve fit nicely on the albums released in the late 70s and early 80s. By now (presumably) any BOC fan would’ve heard the first 2 singles “So Supernatural” (Joe Bouchard) and “Don’t Come Running To Me” (Greg Winter/Eric Bloom) – both good tunes. There are plenty of gems here, a varied mix of songs, tho’ no overly heavy rockers, there are a few good rockers in “Shot in The Dark” (Albert Bouchard/Caryn Bouchard), the ’60s influenced “Cherry” (Bruce Abbot/Donald Roeser), and my early favorite here – “Gun” (Helen Wheels/Joe Bouchard). Standouts (for me) also include the funky “Soul Jive” (Patti Smith/Albert Bouchard) and the ballad “The Only Thing” (Albert Bouchard)- love that intro, the organ break, and Buck Dharma’s vocal, this one might’ve made a nice single.
An excellent release of lost Blue Oyster Cult songs for fans, featuring the original band again. A welcome addition to the band’s catalogue. Features awesome and fitting cover art by Stan W. Decker, who’s done the previous BOC live albums on Frontiers.. Here’s hoping there’s more to come!
LINKS:
https://orcd.co/bocghoststories
Outsider Rock 